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2023's Best Pruning Shears For Bonsai as Reviewed by Experts: Top-picks & Best Deal for you

SfCutter Team Member
  Jun 8, 2023 2:16 AM

Bonsai is a challenging and time-consuming endeavor that requires years of dedication and practice. There are hardly many novices who pick up a pair of bonsai pruners and attempt the craft. 

Anyone who spends even a few minutes researching the topic is aware that growing trees successfully involves knowledge of numerous fields. A skilled bonsai pruner must be well-trained, have high-quality tools, and be able to do any given work. 

Here are our top choices for the best pruning shears for bonsai on the market.


Top Picks

Learn about the best pruning shears for bonsai products with SfCutters below

1. Best Overall: GARDENA Adjustable Bypass Pruners

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These garden pruners are ideal for pruning flowers, shrubs, and branches, thanks to their ergonomic handles and one-handed safety lock. 

The German-made shears can be readily changed to two handle widths or two cutting diameters and are designed to suit your hand properly.

Pros

  • One-handed security lock

  • Soft grip to reduce hand discomfort

  • Multiple sizes and styles available

Cons

  • Some reviews mention that the blades get dull rapidly.

2. Best Packaging: Nevlers Bypass Secateurs

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These bypass pruners include an ergonomic rubber grip that reduces physical strain, allowing you to make clean and accurate cuts. There is also a simple safety lock for when the shears are not in use. 

These shears are used to remove spent blooms from our rose bushes, hydrangeas, and other blooming plants. They are simple to lock, have a powerful spring, are pleasant to handle in little hands, are sharp and snip neatly, and are easy to grip.

Pros

  • Multiple hues available

  • Affordable

Cons

  • Not recommended for chopping thicker branches

3. Best Durable: DRAMM 18026 Compact Shear, Stainless Steel

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These small, stainless-steel scissors boast a fine tip for accurate pruning and shaping, making them ideal for indoor houseplants and fragile outdoor blooms. 

We genuinely enjoy how they function, but we can't deny that we like the variety of colors they come in. They are also available in red, orange, green, and other vivid hues in addition to berry.

Pros

  • Reviewers observe that shears are simple to use.

  • Multiple color choices

  • Portability and portability

Cons

  • Not designed to chop thick branches

4. Best Quality: Felco Prune Cutters

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The Felco Pruning Shears F 31 are an excellent set of shears, but they are expensive. As seen by over 11,000 five-star Amazon evaluations, many gardeners consider these pruning shears to be well worth the price. 

On the other hand, gardeners buying on a tight budget may discover greater value elsewhere. All parts of the Felco Pruning Shears F 31 are interchangeable, so you won't have to purchase a new pair if a single component fails. 

This is a significant benefit over other shears, since many pruners just provide replaceable blades or no replacement components at all.

Pros

  • All components are interchangeable

  • Ergonomic design for the hand.

  • Large capacity for cutting

  • Shears wires

  • The sap groove prevents blades from adhering.

Cons

  • Expensive

5. Best Budget: Heavy-Duty Pruning Shears by EZ Kut

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The EZ Kut Heavy Duty Pruning Shears are the ideal tool for gardeners who require more strength to prune thicker branches.

These shears are ratchet pruners, a sort of anvil pruner that allows you to cut through branches in numerous phases rather than using all of your hand power in a single cut.

The EZ Kut Heavy Duty Pruning Shears include a cutting capacity of 1.5 inches, carbon steel blades that have been toughened, cushioned handles, and shock-absorbing pads. 

This garden tool also has a non-stick coating to prevent the accumulation of tree pulp and a replacement blade.

Pros

  • Hardened carbon steel blade

  • Our list's most impressive cutting capacity

  • Non-adhesive coating

  • Including a locking mechanism

Cons

  • Expensive

  • Some customers claim the pruners are unsuitable for those with weak or tiny hands.


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    Gardena
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Buying Guide

Blade Material

Pruning shears have blades made of different metals and coated in different ways. Each type of metal and coating has its own pros and cons.

Stainless steel blades

Stainless steel is resistant to corrosion and rust, so blades constructed from it will not rust or corrode. Once dull, stainless steel blades are difficult to sharpen, notwithstanding their effectiveness at severing green stems and branches. They may also become distorted if the user attempts to cut heavy branches.

Carbon-Steel-Blades

Because carbon is a hardener, carbon-steel blades are harder and more durable than stainless-steel blades. However, carbon steel is prone to rust if the shears are not cleaned and manually dried after cutting branches with high moisture content. Carbon-steel blades are ideal for slicing through brittle, dead twigs.

A coating of titanium on the blades

A layer of corrosion-resistant, long-lasting titanium provides carbon blades with the rust resistance of stainless steel, combining the best of both worlds. Note that the coating gives the object a golden hue.

Nonstick Blades

The Teflon coating on carbon steel blades prevents the accumulation of muck and sap, extending the time between cleanings. Several types of pruning shears include nonstick-coated blades.

Handles

The appropriate style of grip on your pruner shears helps prevent hand strain while cutting thick branches or stems. Many shears have grips and are made in a way that makes them easier to use. Others are made stronger to make it easier to cut through plants with less force.

Some variations even contain fiberglass for durability or shock absorption to make gardening more pleasant. As power pruners mechanically cut through branches and stems, these versions often have rubber grips that are simple to handle and produce less hand strain.

Springing to life

Unlike household scissors, which must be manually opened and closed for each cut, pruning shears incorporate a spring that drives the blades apart after each cut, so all that is required to cut again is to press the handles. When purchasing pruners, check for a spring that is tightly fastened. If the spring breaks, the shears will have to be used as regular scissors.

Ergonomic Design

The use of manual pruning shears requires a large number of repeated hand motions, which may cause wrist and hand fatigue. Many manufacturers make handles that are easy to hold so that you don't get tired. Look for grips that fit your hand and feel comfortable.

Locking Mechanism

The blades of most pruning shears are held together by a locking mechanism when not in use. This is both a safety feature and a method of protecting a blade's honed edge. While pruning, the most common issue concerning locking mechanisms is that they occasionally lock accidentally (typically due to a finger or thumb bump). A locking mechanism situated close to the blades might avoid accidental locking.


FAQs

1. Are special shears required for bonsai trees?

Yes, you could use bonsai-specific shears to prune bonsai plants. Bonsai trees are quite fragile; therefore, you must ensure you have the proper equipment to care for them. 

Bonsai shears were developed particularly for removing bonsai tree branches. These scissors are composed of stainless steel and are available in several sizes. There are several sorts of shears used for trimming bonsai trees.

2. How do you use a concave cutter for bonsai?

Bonsai concave cutters are used to remove unneeded branches from bonsai trees. It is comparable to pruning shears, except that it cuts into the trunk instead of the branch. To use this instrument, you must first scrape away any old bark with a knife. 

Then, position the blade against the tree's desired trimming side. Ensure that the blade is parallel to the trunk. Finally, drag the handle back and forth across the tree to create a straight line. Repeat until the desired length is reached.

3. What makes pruning shears superior to scissors?

Pruning shears are superior to conventional scissors because they are significantly sharper. The sharpness enables you to cut branches without harming the branches themselves. The use of scissors damages and scars the bark. Additionally, pruners make it simpler to remove dead wood from a tree.


Conclusion

You should now have a good idea of what to look for in the best pruning shears for bonsai, what the best ones are for your requirements, and how to properly care for and maintain your shears. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

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